Seriously though, it seems like the chances for the opposition in front of the net are a lot more frequent with Erskine on the ice and he was responsible for two of the goals against the Caps last night. Not clearing the net is unacceptable for any defenseman, let alone a 6-4, 218 pound one with bad skating and no offensive skill. I appreciate Erskine’s attitude and toughness but it doesn’t really matter how hard you hit if you can’t get to a guy, does it?

Can we photoshop Fleischmann into that picture too? I think I may have needed to use both hands to count the number of Zubrus-esque whiffs on tap-in scoring chances. Now that Semin seems to have gotten his groove back, can't we put Kozlov back on the top line?